


Ficlet Challenge: Day 2 - Meteor

by a1_kitkat



Series: February-Ficlet-Challenge-2021 [2]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Established Relationship, February Ficlet Challenge, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Meteor, Not Beta Read, Older Man/Younger Man, Secret Relationship, Stolen Moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29154573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a1_kitkat/pseuds/a1_kitkat
Summary: Alex watches a meteor shower the night before he ships out again. He remembers that night for the rest of his life
Relationships: Alex Manes/Jim Valenti
Series: February-Ficlet-Challenge-2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137701
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9
Collections: February Ficlet Challenge 2021: Apocalypse No





	Ficlet Challenge: Day 2 - Meteor

**Author's Note:**

> This Ficlet challenge is supposed to be 28 different pairings... I don’t see that happening here...

It had been a long standing joke throughout the town of Roswell that its inhabitants acted strangely whenever a meteor shower was visible on the night of the full moon. 

As a child, Alex had never truly believed such a tale. As a teen, working at the town’s UFO Museum he’d heard way more outlandish conspiracy theories about aliens than meteors.

Yet there was one particular meteorite that Alex had seen every day at work, one that wasn’t even clearly marked. It didn’t have an entire room dedicated to it, only a simple plaque underneath the display case which stated it was a  _ real  _ meteor rock from the night of the rumored crash in 1947.

Alex had grown up in this alien-crazy tourist trap of a town. He’d worked at an alien museum, his best friend’s family ran an alien-themed diner. Yet he’d never once believed aliens to be real. This tiny rock that could fit in the palm of his hand  _ may _ have come from outer space but  _ not _ as the result of an alien spaceship crashing to Earth.

Over the years, people had begun to forget about the hype over the supposed crash. Sure, the town still saw an influx of tourists for CrashCon… the carnival the town held commemorating the crash in a bid to boost tourism but the rest of the year it was pretty quiet.

He’d come to the UFO Emporium each time he was home on leave and every time there were less and less other patrons around. 

This made it the perfect spot for a secret rendezvous. Tonight was different though because there was to be a meteor shower so locals and some tourists were milling about outside, planning to watch from the town square.

Alex knew it was too risky but he couldn’t not see him tonight. He moved through the small crowd, wanting to see him while silently hoping the older man was smart enough to stay away. When his phone signaled a text, he snatched it up.

A simple ‘change of plans’ was all it said, followed by a set of coordinates. Heart racing, Alex frowned at the location but went there anyway. Once he was standing outside the Crashdown Cafe, he received a second text.

Alex had spent a lot of time here during his teen years so was able to slip inside and through to the back practically unnoticed. It wasn’t until he was safely on the roof, underneath the giant Crashdown sign, that he let out a sigh of relief before throwing himself into Jim’s waiting arms.

“What are we doing  _ here _ , Jim?” Alex whispered. “And how did you manage to…”

“I’m the town sheriff, remember? But someone once told me that this was the best vantage point in town to really see the meteor shower and… you’re the only one I want to watch it with.”

“Jim-”

“I know you’re shipping out in the morning, that this’ll be the last time we see each other for… well… who knows how long? So tonight, I just want to hold you in my arms and pretend that what we’re doing isn’t the most terrible thing ever.”

“I love you,” Alex said as he leaned into Jim’s touch, brushed his lips against the man’s chin. “And you love me… What’s so terrible about that?”

“Where do we even begin? I’m married, I’m twice your age, you’re in the military,”

“There’s talk the President is gonna fix the whole ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ thing soon… maybe even by the end of the year…” Alex added.

“That still won’t change the fact your father would kill me if he knew about us.”

“And that’s why he’s never going to find out. We’re careful not to be seen together. Trust me, I don’t want him to know about us either.”

“Alex, look!”

Jim took his hand and pointed to the sky above, at what appeared to be a falling star. Alex gasped and folded himself into Jim’s arms as they sank down onto the blanket he’d laid out for them.

They huddled close together, gazing up at the stars as the sky became a wonderland of meteors.

Alex knew if he could make just one wish it would be for this moment to never end; sitting on a blanket, in his lover’s arms while the sky was a beautiful picture above.

But it was a wish he knew would never come true. In the morning he had to return to active duty and Jim would return to his wife. 

Their lives would continue on as normal. The normal they presented to the outside World while inside, they held onto the precious moments they shared together.

*

Years later, when the UFO Emporium had closed then renovated and reopened, Alex went looking for the small piece of meteor. It had been moved, still on display yet tucked away in a corner.

Knowing all he did now about the crash and the existence of real aliens, made him wonder if maybe this one piece had come down with the ship but it also reminded him of the time he and Jim had spent alone on the rooftop of Crashdown, witnessing a mesmerizing meteor shower.

Jim was gone but the memory would never fade, not as long as Alex held it close to his heart. Further showers came, would be remembered for various other reasons but none would ever be as special as that night, years ago, in Jim’s arms and kissing under the moonlight.

It was a secret he never shared with anyone; a moment in time that was only for the two of them. A memory they both held dear. Alex knew he’d never witness another one as special, would never remember another as vividly. 

And that was okay because each time he saw a falling star now, he made a wish… but not for himself. He wished everyone would find a love like he’d had with Jim. It may not have been perfect but it was a love that never left him. A love that everyone on this planet and the next deserved to feel.

  
  



End file.
